Saturday, March 29, 2008

Brooklynites on Bloomberg

``The Brooklynites,'' by Seth Kushner and Anthony LaSala, features photos of people, not rooms, and makes a good case for the borough's vitality. There are famous faces here, and people notable for their roles in the neighborhood -- the owners of Peter Luger Steakhouse; the sea lion trainer from Coney Island's aquarium -- as well as an assortment of grandmothers, deli workers, writers and musicians.

Each portrait is accompanied by a quote from its subject, like novelist Jonathan Lethem, who says Brooklyn is ``a mongrel place of sorts. It mixes old and modern in a haphazard way. It represents a tiny microcosm of the world -- a functional utopia.''

Or as printer Mike Smollar puts it, ``Brooklyn is Brooklyn. There's no place like it in the world. And when you travel to other places in the world you realize that. They got nothin'.'' (PowerHouse Books, $35.)

Also, I was interviewed by Charlie Pellett, host of "Bloomberg New York". Listen to me weighing in on Brooklyn's cache, the Atlantic Yards and Marty Markowitz's possible run for mayor on Monday between 7-8PM ET.Bloomberg Radio can be heard on XM channel 129 or SIRIUS channel 130, on plain, old radio In New York City, tune to 1130 on the AM dial, or on Bloomberg. com.